In the works of African American writers, though, slaves use ghost stories to undermine white authority. Uncle Julius, from Charles Chesnutt’s collection The Conjure Woman (1899), tells the plantation owners of “The Gray Wolf’s Ha’nt” in order to protect his favorite source of honey from demolition.

An excerpt from “The Gray Wolf’s Ha’nt”:

“I’m glad you came, Julius,” I responded. “We don’t want to go driving, of course, in the rain, but I should like to consult you about another matter. I’m thinking of taking in a piece of new ground. What do you imagine it would cost to have that neck of woods down by the swamp cleared up?”

The old man’s countenance assumed an expression of unwonted seriousness, and he shook his head doubtfully.

“Tell us about it, Uncle Julius,” said my wife. “A story will be a godsend to-day.”

It was not difficult to induce the old man to tell a story, if he were in a reminiscent mood. Of tales of the old slavery days he seemed indeed to possess an exhaustless store,—some weirdly grotesque, some broadly humorous; some bearing the stamp of truth, faint, perhaps, but still discernible; others palpable inventions, whether his own or not we never knew, though his fancy doubtless embellished them. But even the wildest was not without an element of pathos,—the tragedy, it might be, of the story itself; the shadow, never absent, of slavery and of ignorance; the sadness, always, of life as seen by the fading light of an old man’s memory.

“Way back yander befo’ de wah,” began Julius, “ole Mars Dugal’ McAdoo useter own a nigger name’ Dan. Dan wuz big en strong en hearty en peaceable en good-nachu’d most er de time, but dange’ous ter aggervate. He alluz done his task, en nebber had no trouble wid de w’ite folks, but woe be unter de nigger w’at ‘lowed he c’d fool wid Dan, fer he wuz mos’ sho’ ter git a good lammin’. Soon ez eve’ybody foun’ Dan out, dey did n’ many un ‘em ‘temp’ ter ‘sturb ‘im. De one dat did would ‘a’ wush’ he had n’, ef he could ‘a’ libbed long ernuff ter do any wushin’.

“It all happen’ dis erway. Dey wuz a cunjuh man w’at libbed ober t’ other side er de Lumbe’ton Road. He had be’n de only cunjuh doctor in de naberhood fer lo! dese many yeahs, ‘tel ole Aun’ Peggy sot up in de bizness down by de Wim’l’ton Road. Dis cunjuh man had a son w’at libbed wid ‘im, en it wuz dis yer son w’at got mix’ up wid Dan,—en all ’bout a ‘oman.

“Co’se, atter he had made up his min’ fer ter git Mahaly, he ‘mence’ ter ‘quire ‘roun’, en soon foun’ out all ’bout Dan, en w’at a dange’ous nigger he wuz. But dis man ‘lowed his daddy wuz a cunjuh man, en so he ‘d come out all right in de een'; en he kep’ right on atter Mahaly. Meanw’iles Dan’s marster had said dey could git married ef dey wanter, en so Dan en Mahaly had tuk up wid one ernudder, en wuz libbin’ in a cabin by deyse’ves, en wuz des wrop’ up in one ernudder.

“So Dan went down by de ribber, en ‘way up on de bank he buried de cha’m deep unner de root er a live-oak tree, en kivered it up en stomp’ de dirt down en scattered leaves ober de spot, en den went home wid his min’ easy.

A Big Storm Requires Big GovernmentMost Americans have never heard of the National Response Coordination Center, but they’re lucky it exists on days of lethal winds and flood tides. The center is the war room of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where officials gather to decide where rescuers should go, where drinking water should be shipped, and how to assist hospitals that have to evacuate. Disaster coordination is one of the most vital functions of “big government,” which is why Mitt Romney wants to eliminate it. At a Republican primary debate last year, Mr. Romney was asked whether emergency management was a function that should be returned to the states. He not only agreed, he went further.more here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/opinion/a-big-storm-requires-big-government.html?smid=tw-share#comments

GN

Romney’s suggestion that it was “immoral” to fund vital emergency response services and that the burden should be shifted to the states or private sector was breathtakingly ridiculous, and is everything that is wrong with Republicans as a political party now. Selfish and short-sighted.

http://oldhollywood.net/ woody45

He was doing what he’s been doing since this campaign started. Pandering to the far right of his party.

conlakappa

The same moochers who will be first in line for emergency funds.

GN

And a week later, back to calling us takers.

conlakappa

A week? Aw, you always were the nicer play-cousin in our duo! I give them until the moment the check is cashed and they will be braying about multi-baby-having welfare recipients. Only one week until the election… only one week until the election…

Admiral_Komack

Yo!

WHERE THE TEABAGGERS ON THE EAST COAST AT?

Any other time you couldn’t shut them up…holla now, bitches!

GN

My prayers are definitely with the people needing rescue and help (sounds like a horror show in Staten Island and numerous, numerous other places in the tri-state area), but I can’t help but note that a couple of libertarians and debt hawks on the eastern seaboard are about to get really, really humbled right now. I’m thinking people like Mayor Bloomberg (who has been trolling POTUS, upset IMO about the finreg reforms).

MTA:
“In 108 years, our employees have never faced a challenge like the one that confronts us now.”–MTA Chairman (talking about the 7 subways tunnels which flooded last night)

There is no way in heck that we’re going to be able to deal with this crisis by taking a selfish, individualist, libertarian attitude. I’m so grateful to have power and water; I’m so grateful that my family is safe. Deepest thoughts and prayers to people more affected by this complete disaster.

rikyrah

some of those pics with the subways are scary to me.

and, you are on point – the libertarians can go sit their asses down.

GN

Can you imagine? Seven subway tunnels flooded! Imagine having to work on that (the rats and debris, just disgusting and dangerous).

nellcote

Wish you hadn’t reminded me about the rats.

MonieTalks

Thankful you are safe. Praying for everyone.

Kudos to everything you said. I have been thinking a lot about this very subject…let this be an eye-opener to folks.

We can look at tragedies like Hurricane Katrina or the earthquake in Haiti and predictably feel sad. But many people also think, well those people were poor…and if they had better foundations in place, the brunt of the tragedy would not have been too bad,

But in this time of politics, where you have one party who wants to cut FEMA and abandon govt programs, Hurricane Sandy has flooded out lower Manhattan, the home of Wall St. in Manahttan, where some of the richest banksters reside and work, who brought this economy down to its knees, have a hissy fit when their actions are rightfully criticized. And who is out the assisting efforts….the 47% . Unionized firefighters. Public workers whose salaries depend on taxpayer funding. The National guard and other military units, who emoprogs like Chris Hayes (while riding his bike) says do not deserve “hero” status or accolades. A presidential candidate who calls for the slashing of more public worker jobs like those same firefighters battling blazes in the middle of a storm. Govt. not only creates jobs but ensure safety.

This storm show that indeed, we are not in control..but two, you better watch who you disparage and step on , because you very well might need them.

GN

Incredibly well said.

you better watch who you disparage and step on , because you very well might need them.

Indeed; the public or union employee who you disparage as a “taker” may be the same person picking your ass out of the East River or walking down 15 flights of stairs with your newborn baby or elderly parent.

Coimment of the week, Monie.

GN

I’m watching the news–a levee broke in Seaside Heights, NJ, and apparently, there are people on their roofs. The only silver lining here is that unlike similar previous disasters, the national guard has been deployed immediately, all resources have been brought to bear, and numerous state and federal urban search and rescue teams deployed as soon as they could both in Seaside Heights and in Atlantic City.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) praised President Obama’s work to help states battered by Hurricane Sandy as “outstanding” Tuesday, but cautioned that the recovery would be a prolonged effort.

…
“The federal government’s response has been great. I was on the phone at midnight again last night with the president, personally, he has expedited the designation of New Jersey as a major disaster area,” said Christie, in an interview with NBC’s “Today.”

“Last night, I was on the phone with FEMA at 2 a.m. this morning to answer the questions they needed answered to get that designation and the president has been outstanding in this. The folks at FEMA, [Administrator] Craig Fugate and his folks have been excellent,” he continued.

We talked yesterday about Mitt Romney’s unique perspective on FEMA — he wants to turn emergency response efforts over to the states or the private sector — articulated during the Republican primary process. In light of the severity and brutality of Hurricane Sandy, the candidate’s position is receiving new scrutiny.

The New York Times’ editorial board, for example, argues today that “a big storm requires big government” (thanks to Bill Wolff for the tip).

………………….

Eugene Robinson is thinking along the same lines: “Back when he was being “severely conservative,” Mitt Romney suggested that responsibility for disaster relief should be taken from the big, bad federal government and given to the states, or perhaps even privatized. Hurricane Sandy would like to know if he’d care to reconsider.” Robinson added that Romney’s approach is “absurd” and “dangerous.”

Flipping through the channels and saw a clip at CNN with Dan Lothian. He made a comment about the election of course, but threw me off when he was discussing the president’s course of action and actually said “The president, is looking, I guess, presidential.”

It is amazing that it is so embedded in the heads of media, even Black media, that any action this particular president does is not sincere, not a duty that he takes with the utmost diligence, but instead, simply an opportunity for him to appear “presidential.” No wonder Ann Romney can make repeated insults upon PBO, that he is not a grown up, without the pushback that her fake, privileged ass deserves. The silence of the media on that is telling.

It is also telling that the debates, in which Romney was overwhelmingly rude, (and especially the last two in which he was grossly uninformed), it was a “tie” because he only needed to “look” presidential and he achieved that.

Comments like Lothian’s let me know that PBO has not only threatened pedestal of white privilege ( we see evidence of that every day) , but his ascendancy in office has exposed an insecurity in higher-profile Blacks that I am shocked to see.

GN

Indeed; the beltway media is THE issue in terms of the disrespect. Pres O is the real deal, and I’m not surprised that he’s resented by people who simply are not. Much of the Village is self-important, isolated, mean-spirited, and egotistical. Which is how they were goaded by the Bush WH to embed themselves in a clearly dishonest set of war justifications. I think that in the black community outside of part of the media, the President is a revered figure.

conlakappa

Not unlike with Corney, it is mostly about the social ties he hasn’t formed with them. You know that I have been talking about mini-crab cakes and satay since jump. That the last guy didn’t do that either is besides the point, as you say, he let them embed, which was enough for their pathetic behinds.

GN

You’ve been right about these jokers from the beginning, indeed!

conlakappa

DC really is a small Southern city and these jokers are around and about all the time. There has been a void in the social whirl since the passing of Pamela Harriman. We know that Sally Quinn thought she’d fill it but the last couple of guys have been a dry drunk then someone who focuses his free time on having a nurturing role in the lives of his young children. I don’t think any of the Beltway mob is fooling itself into thinking the Mittens crowd will bring fun, of course. Just asses being asses.

rikyrah

I think that in the black community outside of part of the media, the President is a revered figure.

oh, no doubt.

One of my favorite memories of this first term is with the President in OHio, with the new head of the Consumer Protection BOard.

they visited an elderly Black couple that would have been thrown out of their home without these new protections.

when they went outside, in this Black neighborhood, the neighborhood was out.

I loved the video, because it was the TONE of the BLack folks when they called out, Mr. President.

said with love, respect, and awe.

Daltex82

but his ascendancy in office has exposed an insecurity in higher-profile Blacks that I am shocked to see.

When you know you don’t measure up, you lash out.

conlakappa

It is the crying-their-big-heads-to-sleep types like Weird Little Harold Ford, who console-delude themselves with, “I coulda been a contender,” who have been giving more air time than their time in the seats of power warrant. He and Artur Davis should return to obscurity’s warm embrace. Nothing but footnotes in our nation’s history.

edp4bho

“more air time than their time in the seats of power warrant”

No lie. They won’t be seen come 2017.

conlakappa

I think they won’t be seen come March 2013. They will be kept around long enough to complain about what the President did or didn’t do at his second inauguration, to talk about how he’ll continue to let black people down, then mention who the contenders are for 2016. Then they’ll exit stage left.

edp4bho

“…that PBO has not only threatened pedestal of white privilege ( we see evidence of that every day) , but his ascendancy in office has exposed an insecurity in higher-profile Blacks…”

Of course we know it’s not only high-profilers. Just had a discussion of this earlier this morning, and the nitpicking that has taken place with common folks, like….PBO has no real control, he’s just a tool for the system, or he needs to take it to the man..LOL. So, he has no power, but he needs to stand up for black folk?? 2008 has pulled the sheets off a lot of folk. For me it’s simple….Racism and jealousy.

GN

Someone on twitter made the point that if this is the new normal (yearly catastrophic hurricane events in the NYC area), NYC will quickly become uninsurable and multiple major institutions will have to leave. This is a worst case scenario, but it really needs to be a wakeup call for all of the people who are enjoying record profits yet agitating against President Obama because they don’t want to submit to any regulations nor participate in helping to ensure opportunities for other people. That attitude is destroying the country and has international implications.

Headline in WashPost this morning, one week before the election, “GOP improves its showing in early voting.” Hmmm, so what’s this all about, dear readers? Let us read the sub-heading for a further clue about the content… “Republicans performing better than in 2008, though they still lag behind Democrats.” Really?! Talk about burying the freakin’ lede. The first paragraph is even more tortured, involving the words seem and somewhat. I shudder to imagine Aaron Blake’s reporting on historic events.

Ebogan63

“GOP improves its showing in early voting.”

That title alone would have made me call bullshit since they not only ‘lag’ they are getting crushed.

From Dave Weigel, at Slate, news that (if I understand this correctly?) Romney cheats his church as much as every other entity he’s ever touched:Bloomberg obtains new information about Mitt Romney’s taxes and… well, the story comes out when everyone is distracted by imminent disaster. It’s too bad, because this is as thorny and irritating a tale of tax law chicanery as you’re likely to read.
Romney used the tax-exempt status of a charity—the Mormon Church, according to a 2007 filing —to defer taxes for more than 15 years. At the same time he is benefitting, the trust will probably leave the church with less than what current law requires, according to tax returns obtained by Bloomberg this month through a Freedom of Information Act request.

In general, charities don’t owe capital gains taxes when they sell assets for a profit. Trusts like Romney’s permit funders to benefit from that tax-free treatment…

From what I can understand, the loophole Romney took advantage of is legal, just sleazy even by tax-lawyer standards, because he’s essentially getting a payment every year from the ‘trust’ that gradually reduces the church’s principal to zero.

I know there have been persistent rumors that members of the Mormon hierarchy who’ve actually had to deal with Willard aren’t his biggest fans, so maybe this kind of financial three-card-monte hasn’t helped his popularity within the Covenant?

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) spoke to NBC’s Matt Lauer this morning about the response effort to Hurricane Sandy, and towards the end of the interview, he offered some noteworthy praise for the federal response to the crisis.

Christie offered a fairly detailed assessment of conditions in the Garden State, including the fact that there have been three reported fatalities thus far. But when Lauer asked about the efficacy of the federal response, the governor said it’s been “great,” noting that he spoke directly to President Obama at midnight and FEMA again this morning. Christie said Obama “has been outstanding.”

The governor made similar remarks on CBS, saying, “Cooperation from the president of the United States has been outstanding. He deserves great credit.”

What’s more, Christie told reporters yesterday that he’d spoken to Obama, “and he told me that if, at any point over the next 48 hours, I was not getting something from the federal government that I should call him directly at the White House and that he was going to be there. And I should just not worry about dealing with anybody else, call him. So I appreciate that call from the president. It was very proactive. And I appreciate that type of leadership.”

TRANSLATION: THIS FOOL ROMNEY IS A LOSER, I NEVER SHOULD HAVE HOOKED UP WITH HIM, I’MMA SUCK UP TO OBAMA CUZ I NEED FUNDS FOR NEW JERSEY AND I KNOW ROMNEY WOULD SHAFT ME IN A HEARTBEAT.

Seriously, have we seen Christie being a surrogate for Romney since the RNC?

conlakappa

I talked to someone who deals with State politics only in NJ. She very delicately put it that even if Mittens were to win, Christie will still be there next year.

jds09

Someone that wants a job in 2016, slipped him the internal polling. We are gonna see the surrogates surge away from Romney like he has the measles. lol

edp4bho

Yep, right before the 1st debate when he said the creature would be emerge victorious and the numbers would rise. He was correct, except he couldn’t predict the subsequent downward trend. What’s that they say about clocks?

As David Plouffe wrote in his memoir of Campaign 2008, the Obama team has long thought that a good way to reach independents and undecided voters is via local media in key battleground states. So it’s worth taking a look at how the battle over Mitt Romney’s latest falsehood — that the auto bailout will result in American Jeep jobs getting shipped to China — is playing in the Ohio media, since this claim represents Romney’s last chance to turn things around in the state.

Here’s the headline in today’s Toledo Blade:

Clinton, Biden call Jeep ad deceptive
Another in the Toledo Blade:

Obama campaign accuses Romney of dishonesty on Jeep issue
The Blade has been covering this story pretty aggressively, noting that Romney — who now claims Obama followed his approach on the auto-bailout — previously derided the rescue effort as “crony capitalism.”

The Cleveland Plain Dealer, meanwhile, published a scorching editorial with this headline:

Flailing in Ohio, Romney rolls out Jeep ploy
The editorial flatly noted that Romney is now trying to sow “confusion” among Ohioans, to obscure his opposition to a policy that has helped save an industry linked to one in eight Ohio jobs. “It won’t work,” it concluded. “Ohio voters know who stepped up when the auto industry was at the abyss — and it wasn’t Romney.”

And the Columbus Dispatch has been running with headlines like: “Jeep/Romney question lingers.” The Dispatch extensively fact-checked Romney’s claims about the auto-bailout, clearly demonstrating that he did in fact oppose the rescue of the industry Obama ended up pursuing

@WayneASchneider
Our president believes govt should help people in emergencies, but his opponent thinks the private sector shld make $$ off disaster victims

Admiral_Komack

Has anybody heard from any teabaggers on the East Coast this morning…or are they busy pulling themselves up by their bootstraps?

rikyrah

Yes, Florida is still very close:

Nate Cohn takes a look at another basic fact that has gone overlooked amid the obsessing over Ohio: Florida remains very close, and Obama could still very well win there, thanks partly to the state’s growing black and non-Cuban Hispanic populations. Voter registration numbers show large jumps among them

TheWashingtonPost
Calling Romney’s lie what it is: A lie
By Greg Sargent

The Obama campaign is up with a new ad in Ohio that hits back at Mitt Romney’s suggestion — made most recently in a Romney campaign ad — that Obama’s auto bailout will result in American Jeep jobs getting shipped to China:

The ad reprises Romney’s opposition to the auto-bailout — and flatly calls Romney’s Jeep-to-China claim a “lie.” The script:

When the auto industry faced collapse, Mitt Romney turned his back. Even the conservative Detroit News criticized Romney for his “wrong-headedness” on the bailout. And now, after Romney’s false claim of Jeep outsourcing to China, Chrysler itself has refuted Romney’s lie. The truth? Jeep is adding jobs in Ohio. Mitt Romney on Ohio jobs: Wrong then. Dishonest now.

…………………………….

Back when Ohio needed the auto industry bailed out — and Obama took the politically risky step of proceeding with the rescue — Romney took the politically easy position. Attacking it was a good way to pander to conservatives in advance of the GOP primary. But then, when this position became problematic for him in the general election, he began to dissemble about it, falsely suggesting he’d supported government action up front when that’s simply not what happened. With time running out, Romney has run out of answers on the auto-bailout, and has now turned to the claim that it will result in American Jeep jobs getting shipped to China. That isn’t true either.

– – – -Democracy Corp provides some data on the difference in candidate preference among people with different telephone habits (cell only, mostly cell, mostly landline, landline only). Democrats made the same argument in 2004 to argue that the polls were overstating Bush’s support. That was probably true then, but not by enough to matter. Eight years later, a lot more people have given up their landlines. Has the phenomenon become statistically significant?
THERE IS MORE.

— – – -Stan Greenberg ” I’ve seen tracking polls saying that Mitt Romney is either tied or leading in the presidential race, but we think that they are simply wrong. It’s not a conspiracy theory; those other polls are just simply missing a critical segment of President Obama’s coalition: cell phone users. Failing to survey those who don’t have land-lines — who tend to support the president by a significant margin — those polls are blind to the fact that Obama is on track to win re-election on November 6.”

– – – –Again — – –Any comments? – –:>)

conlakappa

I cannot recall if it was the NY Times or the Wash Post that referred to “new technology such as cell phones” in a caption on Sunday. Yes, this past Sunday not some Sunday in 1996. It amuses me that the meanies I talk to in Virginia still have phones they can slam in my ear–that’s Gallup’s sample right there.

rikyrah

Michael Tomasky: F-You Dishonesty: Romney and Jeep

There’s basic dishonesty and then there’s f-you dishonesty – dishonesty so blatant, so consciously abusive of facts that everyone knows, that it deserves a category of its own.

Romney’s new ad about Jeeps and Italy is f-you dishonest….

I originally cut Romney a break here–some aide handed him a news article that was sloppily or strangely written, he read it on the fly, he decided to throw it in there. Not such a crime.

But then Chrysler ripped Romney and said no way, this is not true. Chrysler is thinking about putting plants in China down the road to try to increase market share there. But as for the here and now and the U.S. market, Chrysler is not only not cutting back domestic Jeep production but expanding it, investing $500 million in the Toledo, Ohio Jeep plant.

At that point, even most political campaigns would have just dropped it. They wouldn’t apologize, because campaigns don’t do that, but a normal campaign would just drop it and try to move on.

So what did Romney’s campaign do? It cut a TV ad doubling down on the claim, cleverly worded so as to suggest that the Obama administration sold out America (and Ohio) by selling Chrysler to the Italians who are moving production to China.

Romney’s campaign strategy at least dating from the time of the Ryan pick has been to lie. That’s the only coherent strategy he’s had: LIE and hope that the beltway media, anxious for a horserace, provides cover.

conlakappa

…anxious for ad dollars for their corporate overlords…

Did you see the Billy Graham ad in Sunday’s Times? A full-page ad that doesn’t specifically endorse a candidate but makes it clear for whom his followers should vote, complete with guilting about this being his last election. Good thing that money couldn’t be used to help the poor or anything.

Miranda

Lord have mercy. Billy Graham is on his deathbed and I doubt even mildly coherent at this point. Hell, I wouldn’t be shocked if he didn’t pass away a year ago and his evil ass son and daughter been hiding it. Billy Graham has not been coherent for at least the last 5 years…minimum, its probably closer to 10. I’m telling you, his children been pretending like he’s alive – I would not put it pass them.

conlakappa

No doubt. There is also something wrong about a tax-free entity having a lobby shop: the ad came from the Billy Graham Evangelical Association. What is it trying to protect? Shady mohfuhs being shady.

nellcote

Romney’s campaign strategy at least dating from the time of the Ryan pick has been to lie.
===
Even before that. Rmoney’s very first ad was a lie about PBO quoting McCain. His whole campaign is a lie from the getgo.

conlakappa

A lie mixed with healthy doses of me-too and me-first. When you have no core, it’s easy to be filled with any BS.

Alma98

Good morning all, I hope everyone made it through the storm safe & sound.

http://twitter.com/sherylkaye Sheryl Kaye

Good Morning Everyone. Just checking in to say I hope everyone was safe overnight and doing well this morning. For anyone who has weathered through “Sandy”, my prayers are with you continually. Remember, God is GOOD, all the time…

Romney’s campaign headquarters are in Massachusetts, one of the affected states…a state he once headed…but he can’t find his way THERE? Gotta do “storm relief” in Ohio huh? Lord, that camp is just so pathetic.

GN

He’s a joke. And it’s not that surprising that he knows nothing about real charitable needs since Bloomberg Mag. has confirmed that Romney’s main charity is himself (see, the recent expose on Romney’s Mormon church “donations” which were just a tax shelter–the church didn’t get all of that money).

conlakappa

Cue Miss Ann trolling for empathy one last time. What group of women will she happen up this time, sharing twice- or thrice-told tales that the MSM will tell us she has never opened up about before?

Meanwhile, did you hear that Levi “No Raincoats” Johnston got married this weekend? It will air on tv somewhere tomorrow. Just how many people connected to Moosilla, Inc., were enriched by the 2008 race?

Admiral_Komack

Who did he marry?

conlakappa

The 20-year-old woman who just gave birth to his second child, Breeze Beretta, last month.

TyrenM

Levi’s getting it in (3 we know of.) And they got the nerve to talk about Us.

Town

He married his 2nd baby momma Sunny. Tripp was not at the wedding and of course Bristol wasn’t. Watch for Bristol to announce her engagement to some no-name busta in the next 3 months.

Admiral_Komack

What is this, “Newt Gingrich: The Next Generation”?

GN

I did read about Levi lol and saw that the wedding program was as classy as one would expect (misspelled families “famalies”).

conlakappa

Oh, wow. Is our children learning, indeed.

nellcote

Levi seems like the most “normal” one of all of them.

nellcote

Rmoney’s collecting canned goods that the Red Cross doesn’t want. Unless they specifically put out a call, it’s a hassel to transport and distribute. Rmoney should be holding fundraisers for the RC with his billionaire buddies if he really wants to help. At the very least announcing the texting number to donate.

conlakappa

Team O just sent out a link to the Red Cross, which means that Mittens & Co. should be copying the move within the next hour.

— – -For the first time in more than a century, weather has stopped U.S. equity trading for two straight days as Hurricane Sandy swept across New York City. NYSE Euronext (NYX) will this morning test a back-up plan in case its headquarters or trading floor are unable to open tomorrow.

Stock trading was canceled for a second day, joining bond markets, as 90-mile-per-hour winds and surging seas paralyzed America’s financial capital. The first shutdown for consecutive days due to weather since 1888 was announced by NYSE Euronext after consultations with other exchanges. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association earlier recommended a full market close in dollar-denominated fixed-income securities after they shut at noon New York time yesterday.

Hurricane Sandy, the Atlantic’s Ocean’s biggest-ever tropical storm, slammed into southern New Jersey and churned north over land. The storm, 900 miles wide, produced life- threatening surges in a region with 60 million residents and caused what may add up to billions of dollars of damage. At least 316,500 customers were without power, and thousands of securities industry employees stayed home as Sandy threatened to flood lower Manhattan, home to much of the borough’s electrical infrastructure.
THERE IS MORE

All of the major Ohio newspapers are calling Romney out for this outright repulsive lie.

nellcote

I guess Rmoney’s finally hit that redline.

JojoRaze

I’m glad all the OH papers are going off on Romney about this. I don’t care what political party you are, but scaring workers, making them believe they are going to lose their jobs, to prop up your own ambitions is DISQUALIFYING.

Mittens has done some unforgivable things this election season–politicizing Libya, the 47% remarks, saying PBO was ending welfare work requirements–but messing with vulnerable people’s livelihoods is anathema to me. This is tantamount to those people who lie about having cancer to fleece people. It shows Mittens as sub-human.

Yes, I said that. You have to be a psychopath to do something like that. And the Romney camp knew they were wrong because they didn’t announce the ad buy to the media before hand, per protocol. They did this purposefully and knew if they had announced it beforehand, the media would have told them to stop lying and scaring people.

I hope PBO wins OH by eight points and exit polls show that people voted for PBO because Romney lied about this specific issue.

Documents from a recent Romney poll watcher training obtained by ThinkProgress contain several misleading or untrue claims about the rights of Wisconsin voters. A source passed along the following packet of documents, which was distributed to volunteers at a Romney campaign training in Racine on October 25th. In total, six such trainings were held across the state in the past two weeks

– – -President Obama said on Monday that he’s not “worried” about the impact Hurricane Sandy could have on the election but that his number one priority is “saving lives” and making sure those impacted by the storm get the resources they need.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, after returning from Florida where he had been scheduled to speak at a campaign rally, Obama called the slow-moving hurricane a “big and powerful storm” and said that those in its path should take the proper precautions.

Documents from a recent Romney poll watcher training obtained by ThinkProgress contain several misleading or untrue claims about the rights of Wisconsin voters. A source passed along the following packet of documents, which was distributed to volunteers at a Romney campaign training in Racine on October 25th. In total, six such trainings were held across the state in the past two weeks.

One blatant falsehood occurs on page 16 of the training packet, which informed poll watchers that any identification cards from a voter “must include a photo”, despite the fact that Wisconsin’s voter ID law has been blocked by multiple state judges for this election.

The training also encouraged volunteers to deceive election workers and the public about who they were associated with. On page 5 of the packet, Romney poll workers were instructed to hide their affiliation with the campaign and told to sign in at the polls as a “concerned citizen” instead. As Kristina Sesek, Romney’s legal counsel who just graduated from Marquette Law School last year, explained, “We’re going to have you sign in this election cycle as a ‘concerned citizen.’ We’re just trying to alleviate some of the animosity of being a Republican observer up front.”
– – -SNIP – – –

Here are five misleading or incorrect pieces of information disbursed by the Romney campaign:
THERE R MORE LIES – – -from the Mormon – –BISHOP!! — -HAH! – —

– – -DISGUSTIN’ – – – -DESPICABLE!! —

MsKitty

Good morning fam. The worst of Sandy has passed in South Jersey. Still a bit of rain but nowhere near as windy as it was yesterday. And the power has stayed on, which is what I was really concerned about.

Hope my fellow East Coast peeps are doing okay.

conlakappa

I am safe here in the DC area. Power flickered a time or two but never went out. It is just weird having rain for about 36 hours now. At least the wind has stopped.

*snicker*….he might as well have said “2016 Bitches!” at the end.
_________________________________________

Fox News co-host Steve Doocy wondered when Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was going to get some of the same benefits from the hurricane with a photo op in disaster-stricken New Jersey towns.

“Over the last couple of months, you have appeared throughout the country, Governor, on behalf of Mitt Romney,” Doocy remarked to Christie. “[W]e hear that perhaps Mr. Romney may do some storm-related events. Is there any possibility that Gov. Romney may go to New Jersey to tour some of the damage with you?”

“I have no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested,” Christie replied, immediately shutting down the idea. “I’ve got a job to do here in New Jersey that’s much bigger than presidential politics and I could [sic] care less about any of that stuff.”

“I have a job to do,” he added. “I’ve got 2.4 million people out of power, I’ve got devastation on the shore, I’ve got floods in the northern part of my state. If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics then you don’t know me.”

One of Mitt Romney’s biggest supporters, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, had nothing but praise for President Barack Obama today, as his state prepares to rebuild from the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

“I have to say, the administration, the president, himself and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate have been outstanding with us so far,” Christie said on Good Morning America. “We have a great partnership with them.”

Christie told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that Obama called him on Monday night around midnight to ask if there was anything else the federal government could do to help. Christie added that they worked together to move forward with a Major Disaster Declaration for New Jersey.

Yup, and NJ got the worst of it because that’s where the storm made landfall. There is no way in hell that Christie is about to join the far right in disparaging President Obama or propping up the empty suit Romney when real lives are on the line. No one who gives even half a damn about people could do that. Sounds like PBO has just about written a blank check to New Jersey, a needed one, and glad to see that finally someone has told the far right to have a seat with their bullshit which unconscionably hasn’t stopped even in light of the disaster.

conlakappa

Charlie Rose did try to get him to talk smack about Langford but he kept counsel this time.

I usually don’t wish ill will on someone, but someone needed to throw hot grease on “someone” for the Ginger White affair for awhile now.

Miranda

*sigh*…this n***** right chea….this n*****

Daltex82

SMDH! Still dancing for the man dance Sambo dance!. I wonder how much the devil paid him for his soul.

conlakappa

Why does anyone care about his opinion any way? But I guess he’s the the rare R willing to go on record, given that he’s not running for an office presently

nellcote

Why does anyone care about his opinion any way?
===
He’s an AA gooper. No one really cares what he has to say, it’s the optics.

conlakappa

I think it is more because he’s a buffoon. There are less clownish black people who are Rs they could talk to but I guess those people would behave in a quasi-dignified manner so what would be the point of it all.

Funny how these demons want to be hidden and then when they are exposed, try and get all righteous and pretend like its about free speech.

Miranda

Mitt’s Storm Tips‏@MittStormTips
What is the polite amount of time to wait before politicizing a natural disaster? Asking for a friend. #MittStormTips #Sandy

TyrenM

Good to see our East Coasters posting Here’s hoping all made it with minimal damage. Have a good day all.

Miranda

Romney’s lax regulation may have fueled meningitis outbreak

A meningitis epidemic that has killed 25 is linked to a Mass. company Romney’s administration failed to regulate
By Craig Unger

The fatal meningitis epidemic sweeping the United States can now be traced to the failure of then-Gov. Mitt Romney to adequately regulate the Massachusetts pharmaceutical company that is being blamed for the deaths.

At least 344 people in 18 states have been infected by the growing public health crisis and 25 have died so far.

But the epidemic may also play a role in the presidential campaign, now that state records reveal that a Massachusetts regulatory agency found that the New England Compounding Co., the pharmaceutical company tied to the epidemic, repeatedly failed to meet accepted standards in 2004 — but a reprimand was withdrawn by the Romney administration in apparent deference to the company’s business interests.

– —-As Mitt Romney struggles to gain ground with voters in Ohio, he has attempted to redefine his position on the federal auto rescue that saved as many as 1.3 million jobs. Romney released a highly misleading ad in Ohio this week that criticizes President Obama’s handling of the bailout and touts his own apparently unreleased plan to help the auto industry.

Romney’s actual plan was to oppose federal financing of the auto companies’ bankruptcy; instead, he wanted the private sector to finance the rescue while the government guaranteed post-bankruptcy loans. But private sector financing was “pure fantasy” at the time, according to industry insiders, because credit markets were “bone-dry” in the middle of the financial crisis.

Reporters and auto insiders aren’t alone in their criticism of Romney’s stance on the auto rescue, though. Here are six Romney supporters who have also contradicted his view of the auto bailout or criticized his plan:

1. Michigan Rep. Fred Upton: In February, Upton told Western Michigan University’s WMUK radio that only the government could have saved the auto industry. “There was no one that was willing to come up not only with the cash to keep them afloat but also to serve the warranties of everyone, you and I that drive all these cars,” Upton said. “There was no one that could have picked up those pieces other than the federal government.” He also contradicted Romney’s claim that the rescue was a bailout of auto unions, saying it was “bi-partisan from the get-go.” Without the bailout, Upton said, Michigan “would have hit 40 percent unemployment rates.”
THERE R MORE.

They know they asses are gonna get crushed, they are counting on the Beltway love fest and their bullshit narrative.

gc

As delusional as my patients who have neurochemical dysfunction.

Town

The Romney camp admits today current map doesn’t get them to 270.
————

It’s kind of too late 6 days away from Election Day to figure that out.

conlakappa

From paths to the sea to electoral college, maps are not so much their friends. Smacks of book learning. Elitist!

gc

This admission is not consistent with the “laying the foundation for election theft” theory many have. Good.

JojoRaze

I figured this out months ago on 270towin. If PBO wins OH and FL, NV, he can lose every other swing state and still win. NYT had an article about PBO’s ground game and the title was, to paraphrase, “Obama Relies on Grit and Ground Game” to get votes. It’s basically saying PBO’s team is relying on ground game and each one, reach one, teach one.

There have been some great stories on TOD in the past two weeks about posters volunteering for the campaign reaching out in places that most campaigns never get to, to get voters to vote and calling undecideds and listening to them and commiserate with them and get their Obama talking points in.

There was a great story from Betsy who talked about canvassing in Nevada to an 80 year old Hispanic man, who’s a citizen, but had never voted. He didn’t speak much English, but she used her basic Spanish, and the senior’s grandson, to get across how important it is for him to vote. She called the local OFA to get a car to drive this man to go vote, making sure he brought his passport as proof since he’s a first time voter and apparently Nevada has same-day registration and voting.

His grandson went with him to his polling place and since there were Spanish-speaking poll workers, who explained the process to him, he brought his grandson into the booth to vote with him. Betsy also said this first-time voter was so surprised at the ease of the process that he said he was going to get three other friends of his to vote. Those stories are being replicated all over the country with OFA.

This is all about ground game, and reaching out to people and Mittens doesn’t have it. There are only so many angry white people that can vote. Those angry people will not be phonebanking or canvassing, they’ll be seething in anger and can’t be personable enough to reach out to people which good ground game requires.

rikyrah

I loved that story too

JojoRaze

It made me teary. It impacted me so deeply I still remember the details from memory.

MsKitty

Aw crap. And I was so enjoying having Romney-free TV all these months. Oh well, I guess I can put up with a week since he’ll be history soon after.

– – – -The Elway Poll is the only indedendent, non-partisan, on-going analysis of public opinion trends in Washington state and the Northwest. It measures changing public attitudes, analyzes the interplay of issues, candidates and opinions, and tracks political races. Every month, subscribers receive findings from a new survey of Washington state voters. The in-depth analysis includes trend data and comparisons with regional and national public opinion.

The Elway Poll creates information not available in any form, from any other sources including:

Elway – Believe them. For a while they had Patty Murray losing in ’10.

gc

Thank you for all your support last night everyone. We have power, as do my elderly parents. Just spoke to my father. He was emo – blackouts remind him of hiding from the Nazis. But I brought the convo around to Obama’s leadership and my father raved about BHO’s storm related speech. Father believes this may earn him some more votes.

Miranda

Glad to hear everyone is safe and sound. Mother Nature was not playing around.

– – — The latest and last NPR Battleground Poll for 2012 shows former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney holding the narrowest of leads in the national sample, but trailing President Obama in the dozen states that will decide the election.

The poll adds evidence that the Oct. 3 debate between the two men redefined the race. But the movement toward Romney that emerged after that night in Denver also seems to have stalled after the race drew even — leaving the outcome difficult to call.

The former governor had a 1 percentage point lead overall in the head-to-head preference poll. The president led by 4 percentage points in the smaller sample of 466 voters in 12 states: Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida. Both the Romney lead and the Obama lead were within the poll’s margin of error.
THERE IS MORE.

– – – – -GOOD NEWS. :>)

conlakappa

They are going to look mighty dumb when the election results won’t be too close too call. They learned nothing from propping up an angry man’s campaign in 2008. Here we go again.

Miranda

This is just common sense – Romney’s camp so busy looking for photo ops they are just getting in the way.

Andrea Mitchell‏@mitchellreports
Red Cross tells us grateful for Romney donation but prefer people send money or donate blood dont collect goods NOT best way to help #Sandy

edp4bho

Another clueless ploy. LOL!

conlakappa

The Red Cross is the white-gloved “ladies who lunch” crowd and tend to be overwhelmingly R [look at their leadership the past 20 years] so when the spokesperson won’t cover for your manufactured caring, there’s a problem.

gc

I volunteer with the Red Cross and they often disappoint me in one way or another. I wish they would get their act together.

conlakappa

I mean of course the national one that has the marble-pillared building + another on prime real estate in N.W. D.C. The president of it has an annual clothing allowance. That just seems kind of wrong for a helping organization.

gc

The Regional branches have management issues. They run on volunteers, but we IMO, are not treated well. I didn’t know about the Nat’l aspect. Ugh.

conlakappa

The veil was pulled off that operation during post-September 11 mayhem, Katrina, and further during Haiti relief. I think it is different from the International Red Cross and there are tensions up and down the infrastructure. Dysfunction for days. The head of national is paid mega-bucks and is usually a rock-ribbed R woman. Just the sort of people who should back Mittens & Co.’s play.

Stupidest column I read in a long time. PBO swam in oil spill affected waters with his 10 year old child to show it was safe. Rich Cohen can go pound sand

dannie22

Hello everyone. Hope everyone is safe. Our electricity kept going out last night so I shut my computer off, found a lamp, read for awhile and went to bed. I havent been out yet so I dont know how bad itis, Im sure there are some trees down. Stay safe everyone.

Miranda

Afternoon thread is up!

rikyrah

When Government Works

Ambinder assesses local and federal efforts to minimize Sandy’s damage:

As much as we like to make fun of disaster preparedness, with its acronyms and power points, we also have to acknowledge something profound, which is that these big institutions can actually learn from their mistakes and can make decisions that save millions of lives. If climate change is functionally changing the globe’s weather, then experts in this area have to evolve themselves to catch up. Since Katrina, FEMA has become an incredibly agile and forward-leaning agency and it never gets credit for it.

So far, at least as I type this, everything is working as it should. Warnings are dire, but people are heeding them. The devastation is potentially crippling, but folks are acting proactively. The person at ConEd who made the call to pre-emptively shut off power to lower Manhattan so that, when the flood waters recede, it can be restarted much more quickly, deserves a prize of some sort. Yes! Do more of that! Be accountable for your decision, but, yes, be smart about stuff. We can cheer for that. The federal government is working well with its state and local partners, as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will attest. Utilities pre-mobilized thousands of workers. The stock exchange wisely decided that Howard Roark didn’t have the power to stop storm surges, and that even the economy can take a break to ride out the storm. Will people lose money? Sure. The right call? Totally

– — – -Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren has a strong lead over Republican Sen. Scott Brown in the Massachusetts Senate race, topping 50 percent support, according to a poll released Tuesday by Suffolk University.

Warren leads by 7 points, 53 percent to 46 percent. The survey of 600 likely voters was conducted Oct. 25-28, and has a 4 percent margin of error.

In the previous Suffolk poll from mid-September, Warren led by a narrower margin, 48 percent to 44 percent.